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THE ORIGIN OF ANXIETY: BEHAVIOURS ASSOCIATED

  A deer may be startled by a loud noise and take off through the forest, but as soon as the threat is gone, the deer immediately calms down and starts grazing. And it does not appear to be in anxiety about it later. Let us playact for a moment that we are that deer, living in the grasslands of India. We have slim long feet that help us get into a sprint quickly and pruned senses that pick up signs of danger, a majestic antelope that grabs attention from the group of humans that, every now and then, come driving around on a jungle expedition taking pictures of us. Perhaps the biggest difference between us and our other deer friends, and the humans taking our photograph is that nearly every decision we make (as a deer) provides an immediate benefit to our life . When we are hungry, we walk over and chomp on a bush. When it rains, we shelter under a tree. When we spot a tiger, we run away. Most of our choices as a deer—like what to eat or where to sleep or when to avoid a predator—make

MENTAL/ BRAIN BANDWIDTH: PERCEPTION AND DISCERNMENT

Everything we do (thinking and doing) occupies some bandwidth. Some things occupy a little and others a lot. Examples of things that occupy a little, for most people, are walking, drumming your fingers, or tapping your foot, and things that we are expert at because we have done them often. Examples of things that occupy a lot are talking, listening to information, doing anything we have to concentrate hard on, doing things that we are not expert in because we have not done them before. Driving a car is a good way to envisage this. When we were learning to drive, we had to concentrate extremely hard . We would not have been able to hold a conversation while driving. Almost all our attention was involved in trying to drive. Now that we are an expert , we do not usually have to use so much of our attention. Of course, we still must use a fair amount, but we could also have a conversation while driving. But then, every now and then while we are driving along, something happens that mean

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER: AN OVERVIEW

Anxiety disorders are a class of mental disorders that distinguish themselves from other problems with two key features:  fear and anxiety . Fear is an emotion experienced in response to an imminent threat (real or imagined). Anxiety, on the other hand, is an emotional state experienced in anticipation of a potential future threat. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)—despite its name—is a  specific  type of anxiety disorder. The hallmark feature of GAD is persistent, excessive, and intrusive worry . Who Gets GAD GAD is among the three most common psychiatric problems  in youngsters  (alongside separation anxiety and social anxiety disorders). However, early detection and intervention can result in significant or full remission of symptoms and may protect against the development of other problems later in life. GAD is also the most commonly occurring anxiety disorder in older adults. New onset GAD in older adults is commonly related to co-occurring depression. In this age group,